the davenports

holy crap it’s been a while, and a new cover

Scott — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 03:55:28 +0000

awesome headline. Anyway, apologies to whatever fish swim around here looking for food–i’ve been a bad blogger. But now i got a good reason to post something! Andrew Curry’s awesome project “Drink a Toast to Innocence: A Tribute to Lite Rock.” You can gather from the title what it’s about. He asked me to contribute and i was happy as a clam to do so. Visit his site, and here’s a recent podcast by the legendary Michael McCartney that features our tune–Randy VanWarmer’s “you left me just when i needed you most”–along with a few other gems…

Firsts are better than seconds

Scott — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 05:19:55 +0000

Union Hall show next saturday (aug 13th) marks the very first set on the home turf. Very exciting–right out the back door and all. And to quote Tiny Tim (the little lame boy) yet again, the lineup…oh the lineup. First ever Davenports bassist Danny Weinkauf (TMBG), who played on the very first record Speaking of The Davenports, will return to the bass role. And Charles Newman, co-producer of nearly everything we’ve done, will step into the keys role–the first time we’ve had that role on stage. And my newish friend and expert crooner Terry Radigan will jump up for a tune or two. And Rob Draghi, second Davenports drummer, and Cheri the regular…ah shit i broke the pattern…well anyway they’re superb and they’ll be there too.

Saturday, August 13
7:30 pm
Union Hall
5th Ave at 702 Union St., Park Slope
With label mate Kris Gruen on first

Special Rock Show at Bowery Electric, June 2

Scott — Fri, 20 May 2011 13:08:58 +0000

Just cause it’s fun to mix it up sometimes, we’ll be joined this time by drummer Phil Bloom (The Churchills) and bassist Erik Philbrook (The Brilliant Mistakes). Fun rocking royale.

Thursday, June 2
9:00 pm
Bowery Electric
327 Bowery (at 2nd street)

The Big Takeover on Why the Great Gallop? (Spring issue on newsstands now):
“Brooklyn’s Davenports’ third LP has everything from remarkable hooks to crisp vocal harmonies…This is flat out a great feel-good album that keeps you entertained searching for the message that I will not reveal here, but rather encourage you to find out for yourself, so you don’t deprive yourself of such greatness!”

Special Rock Show at Bowery Electric, June 2
Just cause it’s fun to mix it up sometimes, we’ll be joined this time by drummer Phil Bloom (The Churchills) and bassist Erik Philbrook (The Brilliant Mistakes). Fun rocking royale.

Thursday, June 2
9:00 pm
Bowery Electric
327 Bowery (at 2nd street)

the davenports Cinco de Mayo special

Scott — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 02:39:28 +0000

Cinco de Mayo is coming up, and you know what that means — a Davenports show! But this show, as you would expect, is all about “5.”

“5″ players on stage if you don’t count the other 3 players. “5″ songs, until we play the other 5 songs. “5″ strings on our guitars once we each break a string from tequila.

Come help us make “5″ as special a number as 2. See you there!

the next video

Scott — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 04:03:40 +0000

is up! And this one’s for a song–”Thinking About You, Maryann“–that’s actually from the new record. But the video itself is, of course, “of a set,” because we Davenports prize structure above all else.

This one, like “Five Steps” before it, was shot on a sweltering August afternoon in the Living Room of our friends Rob Wilson and Elizabeth Crowell’s Prospect Heights mansion. The picture at left, while not being from that session, is from the Living Room, but the one that’s a club, where we just had that record release show. Some vid to come from that soon!

In the meantime, enjoy “Thinking About You, Maryann!”

new record out today

Scott — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:20:36 +0000

The new Davenports record–Why the Great Gallop?–is finally here! Slant magazine calls it “a terrific, well-performed power pop record,” and that’s ok by us.

What separates Brooklyn-based quartet the Davenports from other power-pop acts like Jimmy Eat World and Guster is their attention to the most minute details of day-to-day drudgery. On the band’s third album, Why the Great Gallop?, frontman and principal songwriter Scott Klass once again proves himself capable of taking seemingly trivial concerns and spinning them into quirky, cockeyed narratives.

If you havent already, sign up on the left for a free track from the record, and buy it on Amazon, iTunes or whatever digital store makes you click-happiest.

The record release party is next week. Come!

party like you’re releasing a record

Scott — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 05:09:47 +0000

Or party with us, because we are releasing a record.

It’s the Why the Great Gallop record release party at the Living Room! This of course will be the full-full band, including Claudia Chopek, Garo Yellin, Eleanor Norton, Cheri Leone, plus Angela (pictured), Tommy, Karyn and me. And just shitloads of fun.

“Five Steps” video premiere on A&E

Scott — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:38:11 +0000

We’re pleased as punch to announce the world premiere of our video for “Five Steps,” which is helping to usher in the new season of Intervention, and is live on A&E here.

Directed by Dak Abbe, and filmed in the Prospect Heights house of our friends Rob and Elizabeth (owners of the hot Sterling Place in Brooklyn), the vid features everyone’s favorite string trio–Claudia Chopek, Garo Yellin and Eleanor Norton–as well as the lovely Cheri Leone rubbing two pieces of paper together.

It’s starting as an exclusive here, then it’ll be in some of those other places where they put videos shortly. Have a look!

and it also means…

Scott — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 04:07:22 +0000

…The Davenports xmas song is back! Download WHORE FOR THE HOLIDAYS here.

You D-port fetishists know this is actually the second version of the song. The first appeared on Hi-tech Lowlife with synthetic timpani. This version hit the melancholy even harder, with the beautiful cello work of Garo Yellin, and heart-beats by Angela Webster and Rob Draghi.

Why another pic of Alastair Sim as Scrooge, you ask? 1) because i’m gunning up to watch it like i do every year; 2) because i stole the warped-sounding bells idea at the beginning of “Whore for the Holidays” from the Jacob Marley scene in the film.

And just because someone asked for them, here are the words:

Whore for the holidays

By now you could explain
What you think you might gain
Drivin your trouble train at xmas

The office party phase
Drunk in a carnal maze
Whore for the holidays–you’re branded with the crack of the first case
And they’re handed their whore for the holidays

Ring ring the closing bell
You can already smell
The chicken wings and well drinks spillin

Decorum is for fools
Tied to their cubicles
You know the normal rules no longer apply once Bing Crosby plays
So we wrong her—our whore for the holidays

Lorraine said ‘I just don’t know how you can do this again,’
but one of these guys takin advantage of me now
will take care of me when the time comes

Squint on your walk of shame
The sun has got your name
on hand cause it’s the same every year
A morning’s hateful haze
Can you still bear your whore for the holidays?

it’s holiday time, and you know what that means…

admin — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 06:55:46 +0000

Well it could mean a lot of things. Gridlock, meals with bacon, Fan (Scrooge’s dead sister), etc. What it means here is this new Davenports website, and for no good reason.

Actually that’s not true. There is a good reason: we’ve got our first vids coming in like 2 minutes, and that new record is finally coming out (January 11).